Am I experienced enough for a SUP Trip with She SUPs?

One of the most common questions we receive is;

“Am I experienced enough for XXX trip?”

In most circumstances, the answer is yes!

But to make things a little easier, we have created a rating system (as a guide) to help you work out what SUP and fitness levels we recommend for each trip to ensure you have a super fun and comfortable experience.

SUP Ability/Experience Rating System

All She SUPs trips sit on 0-4 scale in terms of SUP ability/experience, however please note, as with all She SUPs paddles and experiences you are welcome to sit, stand or kneel on ANY Level of trip and we would never test your skills or make you prove your ability level. This rating system has been set up as a ‘guide’ to help you, if you wish to use it! She SUPs trips are ALL about having a fab time on the water with new friends in new places, we are NOT here to compete, show off or go mega fast! …we’re a chilled (and social) crowd!

What if I see a trip that I like but I don’t match the ability/experience level suggested?

Additionally, if you see a trip that you like the look of but you feel like you may not be at that experience level, you’re welcome to still book in if you’re up for giving it a shot and if you’re confident you have a good level of fitness that will help you on longer distances etc! A SUP Trip is a great opportunity to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and increase your skills and experience. We have also seen many paddlers use a She SUPs Trip as a goal to train for, and we can advise on how best to do this (normally the answer is simply MORE water time!) If you’re ever in doubt, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

So let’s take a closer look at the ratings…

Level 0 - ZERO experience needed. Absolute beginners welcome. This is a trip where you need zero prior experience and will be taught the foundations of how to SUP and good SUP technique over the course of the trip. We currently don’t have many trips at this level, but we hope to add more as our Trip Hosting team grows.

Trips in this category are: 

Level 1 - All Abilities (beginner friendly). These trips are open to all paddlers (including beginners) but you must be comfortable turning, stopping and paddling in a straight line. As with all She SUPs paddles, there is no pressure to stand for the whole paddle but you must know HOW to stand for these trips and be able to paddle standing for a minimum of 40 minutes as this will ensure you get the most enjoyment out of the paddles.  On Level 1 trips we mainly stay in enclosed flat-water environments with little to no swell. We recommend that Level 1 Beginners should have a minimum experience of 3+ hours on a SUP (e.g. 3 x 1 hour paddles) OR have had at least 1 formal lesson with a qualified SUP instructor.

Trips in this category are: 

Level 2 - Experienced Beginners. These trips are similar to level 1 trips except we start to move into more exposed water conditions (with small swell). This does NOT mean waves or surf conditions, these are still flatwater areas with just a little more movement in the water (think harbour bays!) On super calm weekends (which we hope we’ll have lots of) these areas could still feel like a lake, but we may simply come across more boat traffic. Previous paddle experience in conditions with boat traffic will help you on these trips, and stamina to paddle up to 2-3 hours (featuring rest stops every 40 minutes!) We recommend that Experienced Beginners should have a minimum experience of 8+ hours on a SUP (e.g. 2 x 1 hour paddle, 3 x 2 hour paddles)

Trips in this category are: 

Level 3 - Intermediate Paddlers with stamina and comfortable hinging. These trips are focused on exploring FURTHER and utilising your SUP skills to head off on an epic SUP adventure. You should understand how to utilise hinging to increase the power in your stroke (if you’re not sure what this means, get in touch!) and have the stamina to paddle over 10km or for 3+ hours (featuring rest stops every 40 minutes). Upon booking into these trips we will include a trip training plan in your pre-trip pack so that you can ensure you feel comfortable attending the trip. As always, you’re welcome to switch between standing, kneeling and sitting on these trips, however when paddling longer distances, we recommend using knee paddling for rests every hour or so, and standing for the majority of the paddle to get maximum power and glide from each stroke.We recommend that Intermediate Paddlers should have a minimum experience of 12+ hours of paddleboarding under their belt (e.g. 4 x 1 hour paddles, 4 x 2 hour paddles) and have had a formal lesson with a qualified instructor at some point on their SUP journey.

Trips in this category are: 

Level 4 - Experienced SUP Adventurer (12km+). Once you have attended and hopefully loved one of our Intermediate trips we class you as an Experienced SUP Adventurer. You have likely paddled 12-15km in a day and you’re ready for anything! We currently don’t have any trips targeted at Level 4 paddlers, but if you are already at this level, definitely check out our Level 3 trips. 

So there you have it!! I hope this has helped clarify a few things and given you some ideas about which trip you may like to choose. As mentioned, if in doubt, pleeeease don’t suffer in silence. Drop me a line (hello@shesups.com.au) and we can talk it through.

See you on the water!

Vikki x
Founder of She SUPs

Vikki WestonComment